Dell Cottage Day Nursery

Dell Cottage Day Nursery 76 Walkford Road, Walkford, Christchurch, Dorset, BH23 5QG

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 01/12/2014 29/01/2009

p.1

early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 2 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

p.1

This provision is good

 Children get individual attention from the staff helping them build secure attachments.  Staff regularly assess and plan for children's individual learning, and as a result, the children make good progress in their learning.  Staff incorporate rhymes, songs, and stories on a regular basis developing children's communication and language effectively.  Partnerships with parents and external agencies are good. This means children receive the support they need to meet their individual needs successfully.  There is a clear drive for the continual development of the nursery. Staff are supported in attending training to improve their knowledge and skills, which benefits children.

p.1

It is not yet outstanding because

 Younger children have less opportunities to explore and investigate during the outdoor play activities to enrich their all-round development.  Staff do not always make the most of activities to increase children's understanding of mathematics and extend their learning.

p.1

Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are:  scheduled at least once in every inspection cycle – the current cycle ends on 31 July

p.2

Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  scheduled at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

p.2

Information about this inspection

The provision is also registered on the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. This report includes a judgment about compliance with the requirements of that register.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the playrooms and outdoors.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at documentation including a sample of children's records, planning and records to check staff suitability.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day of the inspection and of the provider's system to evaluate the provision.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the manager and carried out a joint observation with her.

p.2

Information about the setting

Dell Cottage Day Nursery is a privately owned day nursery which registered in 2005. It operates from a converted house in Walkford, an area of Highcliffe, in Dorset. Children use three playrooms and a separate area for creative activities and eating. There are enclosed outdoor play areas for the different age groups. The nursery serves the local area and wider community. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. There are currently 48 children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age range. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. The nursery opens each weekday all-year round from 8am until 6pm. There is currently a team of six staff, who work with the children. Five staff hold early years qualifications at level 3, and the manager also has early years professional status. The other staff member is working

p.3

To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

 offer the younger children more opportunities to play and explore during outdoor play activities

p.3

To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

 strengthen the use of mathematics in activities and routines to provide greater opportunities for children to develop their problem-solving skills.

p.3

who attend

Children settle quickly at the nursery and are keen to explore the stimulating and interesting play areas. The staff have a secure knowledge of how to promote the learning and development of children. They provide a broad range of play activities that cover all areas of learning and motivate children to get involved. Staff make detailed observations of children in their play, which helps them to monitor the children's progress and establish their next stages in learning. This is used to inform planning, ensuring that all children are supported well in making good progress in their learning. As a result, children are ready for the next stage of their learning. Parents receive regular updates from staff about their children's progress. This is during daily discussions and the more formal meetings to go through children's progress folders. Staff actively involve parents in their children's learning and development by encouraging them to share children's achievements at home.

p.3

who attend

This contributes towards continuity for the children's care, learning and development. Staff regularly incorporated songs and rhymes helping develop the children's understanding of rhythms and sounds. Children recognise and join in the rhymes and familiar songs, such as the, 'Five little ducks' rhyme. Staff make good use of props and puppets to fully engage children of differing ages. This effectively promotes the children's early literacy skills. Staff introduced some counting rhymes. They held up their fingers to represent the different numbers and some of children copied by counting their own fingers. This helped to raise children's understanding of number. However, staff did not extend the activity to encourage the children to work out how many monkeys were left when they took one away. This means that staff do not always make the most of opportunities to teach children about number and changes in quantities, to help children

p.3

who attend

move onto the next stage in their learning. Children are confident communicators and they happily chat with staff and their friends during the activities. Staff interacted positively with children to promote discussion and skilfully model language. For example, as children played in the sand they used words, such as, 'Pat, pat, pat' and, 'Tap, tap, tap'. Children repeated the words during their play and this successfully extended children's vocabulary and teaches them to use new words.

p.4

who attend

Staff promote children's physical development well and make good use of the extensive outdoor play environments. Older children benefit from being able to move freely between the indoor and outdoor play areas most of the time, enabling them to follow their interests. Staff take younger children outdoors several times during the day to make sure they have regular opportunities to play outdoors. This means that all children get plenty of fresh air and exercise. However, the staff tended to hold babies on their knee rather than allowing them to explore, such as to freely investigate the sand. This reduced the play experiences for the babies at these times. Overall, children have good access to a wide range of sensory play opportunities. For example, they enjoyed using their fingers to feel the paint as they created patterns on their Christmas calendars. The older children showed good control and concentration as they used various sized spoons to scoop up sand into

p.4

who attend

the containers. This promoted children's active learning and helps develop their hand and eye coordination effectively.

p.4

The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Staff provide a warm and welcoming environment. The effective key-person system means that staff know children well, and as a result, the children form secure attachments. This promotes their emotional well-being effectively. Staff value and respect all children. Key staff link with parents about the younger children's individual routines and follow these at the nursery. The babies are confident to explore their surroundings as they know that familiar staff are close-by. Staff provide regular cuddles and reassurance, and as a result, children are settled and secure. Children show developing independence in their personal care as they use appropriate tools to wash their hands. Staff encouraged the children to pour their own drinks and to serve their food at snack time, offering sensitive support for younger children. This all helps to prepare children for the next stage in their development as they become more independent.

p.4

The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Children build friendships as they learn to play together nicely. Staff are good role models and provide clear guidance for children so they learn how to manage their own behaviour. For example, they explained to the children the importance to let others have a turn at using the particular props during the rhyme-time session. Children listened and cooperated showing that they understood about sharing and taking turns with others. Staff complete daily checks as part of their ongoing risk assessment of the areas used by children. Staff supervised the children well and they showed they are fully aware of possible hazards to children. For example, staff stood by the climbing frame to supervise children closely as they used the play equipment. This helped to keep the children safe and enabled them to gain confidence in using the more challenging play equipment.

p.4

The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

The stimulating indoor and outdoor play areas support children's learning well. Resources are thoughtfully organised in all areas to enable children to have freedom of choice. This means that most of the time the children are able to make decisions about how and where they want to play. Good use of the outdoors means that children get plenty of fresh air and exercise. Staff teach children the importance to have a healthy lifestyle. Children follow the familiar routines and good hygiene practices, which helps to support their good health. They enjoy a wide range of nutritional snacks and hot-cooked meals. These are adapted to suit children's individual dietary needs. Clear information is recorded and shared with all staff so they are aware of any children's specific health needs. Staff link closely with parents to follow the younger children's individual feeding patterns and requirements.

p.5

provision

The manager and staff have a good understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. All staff attend regular safeguarding and first-aid training to update their knowledge. Staff are clear of the child protection procedures to follow should they have a concern about a child's welfare. Robust vetting and recruitment procedures ensure any adults involved in the nursery are suitable to work with the children. The detailed risk assessments and effective security measures help to keep children safe and secure. The manager monitors the accident reports to help her identify any issues and this enables her to take action to reduce risks in future. For example, new safety mats recently positioned underneath the small trampoline helps towards minimising risks to children should they fall. The effective use of documentation helps to support children's safety and welfare.

p.5

provision

All staff undergo a detailed induction that informs them of their roles and responsibilities in helping to protect children. Individual staff members have key roles, such as responsibility for the outdoor play environment. Staff work together well as a team to make sure that children's individual needs are met. The manager carries out staff supervision on a regular basis. She actively encourages all staff to continue to update their knowledge and skills through training. For example, the staff recently attended speech and language training to help them develop their practice. The manager oversees the observation and assessment records completed by the staff to make sure these accurately reflect all children's individual skills, abilities and progress. This includes the required progress check for two-year-old children. As a result, children are making good progress in their learning and development. However, at times, the staff do not use the full

p.5

provision

opportunities to extend children's learning experiences. The manager has a clear drive for the continual development of the nursery provision. She gets all the staff to contribute towards the reflective journal as part of an effective self-evaluation process. For example, when staff identified the paint easel was not being used inside they re-positioned it outside and now the children use it more frequently.

p.6

provision

Partnerships with parents and carers are strong. The parents receive detailed information about the nursery provision including access to the nursery website. The manager welcomes feedback from parents to gain their views and help her develop the service further. Parents report they are happy with the care their children receive and that staff are always approachable if they have any queries. Staff forge good links with other professionals and agencies and work closely with them to support all children. This has a positive effect on children's well-being and learning. The staff help prepare the children for their move onto school, such as by encouraging children's independence skills.

p.6

The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are Met

p.6

Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding Outstanding provision is highly effective in meeting the needs of all children exceptionally well. This ensures that children are very well prepared for the next stage of their learning. Grade 2 Good Good provision is effective in delivering provision that meets the needs of all children well. This ensures children are ready for the next stage of their learning. Grade 3 Requires improvement The provision is not giving children a good standard of early years education and/or there are minor breaches of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. We re-inspect nurseries and pre-schools judged as requires improvement within 12 months of the date of inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate Provision that is inadequate requires significant improvement and/or enforcement action. The provision is failing to give children an acceptable standard of early years education and/or

p.7

Grade Judgement Description

is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected again within six months of the date of this inspection. Met There were no children present at the time of the inspection. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not met There were no children present at the time of the inspection. The inspection judgement is that the provider does not meet the requirements for registration.

p.7

Inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and care, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

p.8

Setting details

Unique reference number EY315470 Local authority Dorset Inspection number 834458 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 20 Number of children on roll 48 Name of provider Dell Cottage Day Nursery Limited Date of previous inspection 29/01/2009 Telephone number 01425 274411

p.8

Setting details

set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

p.8

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

p.8

Type of provision

Full-time provision is that which operates for more than three hours. These are usually known as nurseries, nursery schools and pre-schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the higher fee for registration.

p.8

Type of provision

Sessional provision operates for more than two hours but does not exceed three hours in any one day. These are usually known as pre-schools, kindergartens or nursery schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the lower fee for registration.

p.8

Type of provision

Childminders care for one or more children where individual children attend for a period of more than two hours in any one day. They operate from domestic premises, which are usually the childminder’s own home. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage.

p.9

Type of provision

Out of school provision may be sessional or full-time provision and is delivered before or after school and/or in the summer holidays. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. Where children receive their Early Years Foundation Stage in school these providers do not have to deliver the learning and development requirements in full but should complement the experiences children receive in school. achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children,

p.9

Type of provision

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

p.10

Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.10